Town Comprehensive Plan Leaked To Developer Before Official Release

  The Town has had a Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee developing a new Comprehensive Plan for release to address what the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee believes to be the best plan for Greenburgh’s future. We applaud this move. Our dismay has been that obstacles were repeatedly and knowingly placed in their path to hinder their work process. This appears to be nothing but a stalling tactic to allow more apparent Town Board spot zoning for developers.  We wish we were wrong but actions repeatedly taken by this Board make it difficult to believe.

Greenburgh Past shows a history of rapid growth with development throughout the Town. This development was undertaken in both residential and commercial sectors. A good thing that happened during this time was that our Town Building Code was strengthened and safety was made to be a paramount concern in buildings throughout our Town. Our Town exceeded state requirements and was validated as other communities and entities following our lead. Kudos to those involved, such as Emily Bayer, Robert Brunner, Robert Stiloski and others.

Greenburgh Present has had a similar blast of development, primarily limited to the Unincorporated portions of Greenburgh. The Villages seem more reticent to overdevelop what little open space is available and preserve it. Conversely, this Board seems bent to fill every last piece of open space, change usage requirements (i.e., shared parking) to accommodate developers and not residents. Regrettably, we’ve witnessed spot zoning for spot parcels owned by favored developers. Although, to make sure it doesn’t appear as spot zoning, the Town Board will adopt it as a zoning change that can be used throughout the Town (i.e., Assisted Living facilities), even though that zoning was specific and written by Brightview Assisted Living’s attorney’s and will never be used elsewhere in the Town.

Greenburgh Future shows promise in that the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has finally completed their proposal for the Town. We welcome that proposal. And while we may not agree entirely with it, it will accomplish two very specific things. First, it will help control the future development, some say overdevelopment, of our Town. Second, it should significantly limit Mr Feiner and his Town Boards wholesale green lighting of projects that are too large for limited size parcels. A Comprehensive Plan is a greatly needed mechanism to control the look, feel, and future of Greenburgh. Hopefully, it will all but eliminate the spot zoning typically referred to by this Administration as Town-wide.

The Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has worked for quite some time now confidentially developing this plan. Numerous participants on this Board have respected its necessary confidentiality and not leaked any of the information – except one: Town Planning Commissioner Thomas Madden! In an unprecedented and frankly disturbing move, he revealed the confidential zoning information with GameOn 365’s Planner John Saccardi since July of 2013! While this is certainly an ethical violation in our minds, we’re sure the Ethics Board will see nothing wrong with his betrayal of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, the Town and its residents. When pushed at the Town Board Work Session, Mr Saccardi said (paraphrasing), “We’re both planners and we talk to each other.” Mr Saccardi is free to discuss whatever he chooses with whomever he chooses. Mr Madden has violated a sacred tenet to which public officials must be held: confidentiality! Confidentiality, and specifically the absence of it, must not be taken lightly! Although ABG is confident no punitive actions will be taken against Mr Madden.

Now that the Town Board has begun to fast track overdevelopment on Dobbs Ferry Road and specifically GameOn 365’s burgeoning, prohibitive and ill-conceived sports extravaganza, the leaking of the Comprehensive Plan information gives GameOn 365 the inside track and unfair advantage with information unavailable to any other potential developer or purchaser. Mr Madden’s cavalier divulging of this information to Mr Feiner’s anointed and favored developer aligns with Mr Feiner’s anxiousness that GameOn 365 be the only developer to move forward on Dobbs Ferry Road. As such, there will be no recriminations for Mr Madden, nor will he be forced to withdraw from the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, as he should be. His leaking of this information is akin to insider trading and frankly should result in at least a suspension without pay!

Ironically, when residents asked to see preliminary copies of each section of the Comprehensive Plan, it was Mr Madden who refused to do so, saying, “We don’t want this to go out piecemeal.” His explanation at the time was a logical one. So the public waited – but not the developer, which begs the question, how many more developers did he share this information with? Since he did not respect the confidentiality of the process, we wonder did he also send copies out? This is a gross violation of the integrity of the Town government, his office and the process with which he was asked to participate. Rather than face disciplinary action, we expect to see him receiving a Special Recognition Award from Mr Feiner and the Town Board during the first hour of the Public Discouragement Process preceding the next Town Board meeting. This has to change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.